The present invention provides a container for information carriers, and in one embodiment, provides an integrally moldable CD container with a holder which grips the outer edge of the compact disc so that the disc is easily pulled free from the box by applying a force along the plane of the disc.
Known CD storage container generally include first and second cover portions which are hinged together. The first cover portion generally includes a bottom floor and raised lateral walls so as to form a box. The second cover portion is in the form of a lid which lockingly engages the box. Near the center of the box are circularly arranged clamping elements which project a short distance upward from the floor of the box. When these circularly arranged elements extend through a central opening of the CD, they clamp the CD in place, holding the CD roughly parallel to the bottom floor and within the lateral walls of the box. By locking the lid onto the box, the CD can be stored inside the container and protected from the external environment.
When removing the CD from known CD containers, the lid is pivoted open and the CD is grasped along its peripheral edge. To release the CD from the box, the clamping elements within the central opening are forced inward so that the CD can be retracted in a direction substantially perpendicularly to the box floor. Similarly, the CD is inserted into the box by pressing it down over the central clamping elements, perpendicular to both the box floor and the plane of the disc itself. As the inward deformation of the clamping elements during insertion and removal of the CD is substantially parallel to the plane of the CD and the box floor, and as the clamping elements project perpendicularly from the floor, the clamping elements are generally deformed along the plane of the CD. One such information carrier container is described in European Patent Application No. 0 420 350.
Known containers for CDs and other information carriers have a number of drawbacks. For example, these known devices can generally only store information carriers that have a central opening to receive the circular clamping elements. Additionally, it is often difficult to remove CDs and other information carriers which are held in place by the clamping elements of these known CD boxes. Specifically, there is very little space for grasping the CD along its perimeter edge, as the plane of the CD is quite close to the bottom of the box to minimize the storage volume surrounding the flat CD. Also, it is generally necessary to grasp the carrier with one hand while holding the box with the other. In fact, manual deformation of the central clamping elements often helps to release the CD. Hence, two hands are generally required whenever the information carrier is to be removed. Another disadvantage of known CD boxes is that there is a significant chance that the user will damage the CD by coming into contact with a data bearing portion of the carrier during this removal process. Similarly, both the installation and removal forces applied against the CD are generally normal to the plane of the disc, increasing the possibility that the disc will be bent or broken.
Known CD container structures also suffer from disadvantages from the manufacturer's viewpoint. Known CD boxes are often assembled from several individual pieces, generally of differing, relatively expensive materials. For example, the clamping elements must be sufficiently flexible to be readily pushed aside by the information carrier, but should be sufficiently rigid to clamp the information carrier firmly in place. This combination of requirements substantially limits the selection of suitable materials, particularly when it is desired to form the clamping elements using inexpensive molding techniques. Even when such expensive materials are used, these short stiff clamping elements are generally not sufficiently durable to accommodate long term, repeated use. Furthermore, known boxes are often also formed with molded hinge pins to ease assembly, but these structures are also prone to breakage during use. Should the clamping elements or hinge pins snap off, the CD or other information carrier can no longer be held in place and/or protected from the environment, thereby rendering the container useless. Lastly, once damaged boxes are to be discarded, the use of several individual materials makes recycling the useless container problematic.
For the above reasons, it is desirable to provide improved information carrier containers and methods for their production. It would be particularly desirable to provide containers which held CDs and other information carriers securely and protected them from the environment, but which allowed the information carrier to be removed and reinserted easily and safely throughout the useful life of the information carrier itself.